Ripping 2x12x8 foot Boards

[boostfan]

Welcome David,

The Bandsaw is certainly intriguing, but even using a 5/8" wide blade, I have problems ripping straight cuts. There is an interesting Sawdust Session on how to make it work right, but I have not tried it yet.

I agree with the doing what you are comfortable with. I inherited my SS about one year ago and I was excited about using the table saw to cut plywood. After a lot of disappointment and a few near disasters, I now cut it with a circular saw and a guide.

[cml]

I'd probably use a jigsaw and a fence, myself. My circular saw really sucks, gouges out a huge kerf, and burns the crap out of anything it touches. (Maybe I should look into a better blade.. I wouldn't use the bandsaw. I have mine set up so I don't get much blade drift, but over a long distance with a fence, there's no way my 8' cut would be square/parallel.

The jigsaw is slow going, but it's a thin kerf, and you don't totally hose your cut if you have to stop halfway through.

Alternately, most lumber yards have a sawmill, and they will rip to (approximate) measurements for not too much $. Go at an off time and talk directly to the mill guy, and you might even get it for free. You'd have to plane or joint to the correct width after, though.. be sure to over-estimate your width by at least 3/8" ! :-)

[heathicus]

I needed to rip a couple of 1"x4"x8' boards this evening, but the rips had to be at a slight taper. So I used the bandsaw. I used a chalk line to mark the tapered cut. I used the Mark 5's main table as an outfeed support, and one of my 10ERs as infeed support. The largest blade I have is 1/4" so I used it. It seemed to work ok. i had a little trouble staying right on the line, but that wasn't critical for what I was doing this evening so it was OK. Worked out pretty well.

[djkhanson]

Some updates on my end. I've got the saw horses set up with the boards and it strikes me as very stable and secure. The weight helps hold the boards in place as well as the bar clamps. I'll start ripping in the morning when it's cooler in the garage. Humidity is very high right now...

Thanks for the info about the rip blade, your right, it's smaller but the blade in the saw does have very deep gullets. I assume that's good for ripping thick boards and the amount of material it has to move without clogging so I don't need a new blade for it. I'll have to review the saw blades I have for the Shopsmith when I rip smaller pieces.

My inherited circular saw seems much better quality than the jigsaw I have so for now I will try the circular saw.

I have sooo much to learn. It's been run into an issue, research and decide on how to proceed, and run into the next issue but I always learn something. The best thing so far has been the wealth of material about Shopsmiths that is available, just amazing.

I do indeed plan to involve my wife in this (happy wife, happy life!). By letting her help in the design and finishing phase I ensure that I don't make white elephants that people don't want. It makes budgeting for new woodworking toys much easier!

Thanks for all the good advise.

[8iowa]

David:

A blade with deep gullets is fine for ripping solid wood, but is not suitable for plywood. Go to one of your local "big boxes" and look for a circular saw blade that has the highest number of teeth that you can find. High ATB style with a low hook angle is preferred. Sometimes the blade will say it is designed for plywood and laminates.

The blade that you have will cause an inordinate amount of tear out - in short - a very ugly edge.

[robinson46176]

I have been following this thread and I'm sorry but I simply don't see the big deal here. Set the fence properly, lay the board on the table against the fence with the middle of the board over the blade so it will sit there, attach a feather board snugly against the board at the front of the blade (within an inch or two, not critical) so it is pushing the board firmly against the fence, remove the board, set the blade depth properly, and cut it... using either use a helper or a good rear support. It is what the saw was built to do, just do it. You are far safer making a cut like that than some of these guys cutting little tiny pieces off of other little tiny pieces (that shouldn't even be cut on a tablesaw at all) where they can't even get a grip on them. With a 8 foot board (which are not long boards BTW, 16 footers up to 24 footers are long boards) you have a tremendous amount of leverage to hold everything in place and stay in control.
If we have any framing carpenters that read this forum they can't respond because they are laughing too hard at all this fuss and worry over cutting a board that they might cut while standing on an open ceiling joist with one leg hooked over a rafter to stay in place as they cut.
Of course you have to make these cuts since you indicate that you have already bought the material. I have to question why they have you ripping 2"x12"s down to 3" strips since you pay a very high premium for "wide" boards. You will not get four 3" boards out of a 2"x12" since it will only be around 11 1/2" wide to start with. I suspect that it would be much cheaper and easier in most cases to use 2"x4"s
Bigger stuff is not always harder. Often it is easier.
Always work very carefully and stay in full control of any workpiece. Examine every situation for the best solutions, which is what you are doing. Just don't wast a lot of time being afraid of "everything".

[JPG]

David:

A blade with deep gullets is fine for ripping solid wood, but is not suitable for plywood. Go to one of your local "big boxes" and look for a circular saw blade that has the highest number of teeth that you can find. High ATB style with a low hook angle is preferred. Sometimes the blade will say it is designed for plywood and laminates.

The blade that you have will cause an inordinate amount of tear out - in short - a very ugly edge.

Ralph: I agree re plywood, but I thought the subject was ripping 2x12-8' boards.

Farmer: Yep 2x4-8' cheaper/cubic inch.(if you can find full 8' 2x4's)

[djkhanson]

Made all the rips, worked great with the circular saw. It had a 20 tooth blade in it and that seemed to work well both with a guide or freehand following a pencil line.

To robinson46176, your right. There isn't a big deal. I saw three ways to rip these long boards and was curious if there were any "gotchas" or OMGs involved in using any of them. I am inexperienced with ripping long heavy boards with a table saw. The small table that is on my 500 seems inadequate for me to try and balance the board while I run it through featherboard or no, even with an infeed and outfeed. An 8 foot board makes a hell of a lever and I could see myself binding the blade if I moved the board even a little way to either side as I ran it through.

I used 2x12x8' at the recommendation of the author and designer of the fine woodworking new-fangled workbench. His thought was to select clear boards and then mill them down to the 1.5"x3" boards he builds the workbench out of. 2x10s and 2x12s are cut from the center of the tree often and are knot free and indeed they seem to be mostly knot free clear wood. They were less than $8 each so not expensive at all I thought.

Now that the long pieces are cut I will move to the Shopsmith and cut, drill and assemble the table. Very excited to have a bench to work my projects on! ;-)

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

[robinson46176]

[quote="djkhanson"]Now that the long pieces are cut I will move to the Shopsmith and cut, drill and assemble the table. Very excited to have a bench to work my projects on! ]




You do understand don't you that within 24 hours of completion of the bench everything in the shop will have crawled up onto the bench into a big disorganized pile...
About the only battle bigger than overflowing scrap boxes is keeping a bench top clear.
Battle number three in my shop is cobwebs full of sawdust in every nook and cranny. I'm considering explosives.

[Ed in Tampa]

Most interesting thread! One I found insightful.
I never in a hundred years expected to see method 3 (circular saw with guide endorsed) and it was!

Even more interesting was the reason, "I have more confidence".

I have ripped plenty of 2x lumber on the Shopsmith and I fully expected it to be the most popular method.

I'm sold on the guided saw method because it seemed superior to me but I never realized how many other people consider that method too.

Most interesting thread and one I believe that has a lot of insight for those that are looking for it.